Habakkuk and the Philosophical Context
Habakkuk offered
his prophecy between 609-605, and one part may come from 600. Klaus Koch (The Prophets) says he was a younger
contemporary of Jeremiah. He will stress that Judah will not be able to
withstand the assault of the Chaldeans. This happens because violence rules in
Judah. Leaders have destroyed the just order of society. His social criticism
is as sharp as Amos or Micah. The prophet attacks the one greedy for gain.
Watts says the oracle refers to a Judean tyrant and a foreign oppressor. There
is another title at 3:1. He may have been one of the Levites who conducted
temple worship in Jerusalem, suggested due to the many worship references in
the book. Achtemeier says Habakkuk has the primary concern for the purposes of
God and the realization of the will of God for the world. She does not believe
he was a cult prophet. The prophet receives mention in the apocryphal addition
to Daniel that discusses the god Bel and a dragon who is also a god. This
prophet sees the coming judgment upon Judah at the hands of Babylon. However, he questions whether this is
just. Though he can see the sin of
Judah, it appears to him that the sins of Babylon are much greater. Thus, how can God justify using a wicked
nation to punish a less wicked nation?
There are two complaints by the prophet, and there are two replies by
the Lord. The answers are not
satisfying. If he thinks the situation
is bad now, it will get worse. However,
the person who is just will survive. He offers a woe upon oppressors,
especially those who amass goods that do not belong to them, ill-gotten gains,
murder, drink, and idolatry. He offers a plea to the Lord to deliver Judah from
the approaching menace from the East.
Habakkuk 1:1 is
the title referring to the oracle, or words, as Zechariah 9 & 12 as well as
Malachi suggest, that the prophet saw in the sense of having a vision.
Habakkuk 1:2-2:4
is a dialogue between a prophet and his God. Von Rad (Old
Testament Theology) says that this section is a liturgical dialogue between
the prophet and the Yahweh. Twice the prophet lays a complaint before Yahweh.
He thinks it difficult to tell if the complaint is against enemies within or
without. The answer is surprising in that more judgment is coming. Things are
getting worse. How can Yahweh do this? The answer is that those who are
faithful will live. Note that this prophet takes the initiative, whereas Amos,
Micah, Isaiah, and others, God called first. In 1:2-4 he offers his first
complaint. The concern, as Achtemeier sees it, is for justice, the order
ordained by God for the covenant people. How long shall the prophet cry for
help and the Lord will not listen? Watts points out here that in spite of
unanswered prayer, the prophet continues to pray. God is present, even when the
evidence is not there. The prophet focuses on the violence, most likely
referring to what he sees happening in Judah, and the Lord does not save. His
concern is the internal conflict he sees. His central complaint is that, as a
prophet, the Lord makes him see the wrong and trouble, instead of receiving
words and visions that speak of divine action. Destruction, violence, strife,
and contention are what he sees. The law becomes slack so that justice does not
prevail. Achtemeier points out that apparently the people have already
forgotten the religious reform under Josiah. The result is chaos and
oppression. The prophet concludes by saying that the wicked surround the
righteous in a way that perverts judgment. Achtemeier will stress that the
complaint is that there is no order in society. The Lord has an interest in
justice at all levels. Therefore, he turns to God, but God does not hear. Yet,
the complaint is that law and justice are losing their battles with evil. This
violates the expected order when one believes one is living in a covenant
relation with God. God does not seem to live up to the covenant relationship,
even while the prophet has been faithful. 1:5-11 contains the first answer from
the Lord. His point is that the Chaldeans are instruments of the justice of
God. He is to look at the nations. God is doing a work that one will hardly
believe, for the Lord is rousing the Chaldeans to seize dwellings not their
own. Jeremiah 27:6a, given in 594, agrees, “Now I have given all these lands
into the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, my servant …” Babylon is an
instrument of God. They are fierce and impetuous. They embody dread and fear.
Their justice and dignity proceed from themselves. Horses are swift as leopards
and menacing as wolves. Those who ride the horses fly like an eagle swift to
devour. They come for violence. They gather captives like sand. They scoff at
kings and rulers. They laugh at every fortress. They sweep by like the wind,
which may refer to 604, when the Babylonians passed by Judea to attack Egypt.
Their god is their own strength. Achtemeier points out that the Lord is
reassuring the prophet that what he sees is the work of God, even though it
appears only people are at work on the world scene. Since the people of the
covenant are doing injustice and violence, the answer of the Lord is to give
them more of it! 1:12-17 offers a second complaint. The prophet begins with an
affirmation from the creeds and hymns of the time. Is the Lord not from of old?
The Lord shall not die. The Lord has marked them for judgment and punishment.
The eyes of the Lord are too pure to behold evil. The Lord is not silent when
wrongdoing and treachery are present. Achtemeier will suggest that if the
Babylonians are instruments of punishment, the Lord will not destroy Judah
forever, for the purpose of God is always correction. The Lord has made the
people like the fish of the sea, or like crawling things that have no ruler.
The enemy brings them up with a hook and drags them out with a net, bringing
the enemy to rejoice. The enemy sacrifices and makes offerings to the net. Is
he to keep on emptying his net and destroying the nations without mercy? Thus,
Achtemeier points out, if the victory of Babylon is temporary, that does not
solve his problem of waiting years for the fulfillment of the good purposes of
God on earth. After all, the Babylonians will simply mean replacing a chaotic
order with a godless one. He is perplexed about the fulfillment of the purposes
of God. God has a purpose. God will replace the wickedness of Judah with the
wickedness of Babylon. The march of God toward the goal seems to be a zig-zag
approach. In 2:1-4 we find the second answer of the Lord. The prophet will
stand at his watch post and keep watch for an answer to his complaint, a symbol
of constant openness to the divine word, says Achtemeier. Watts will stress
that the prophet respects the divine freedom here. Further, Jeremiah 42:7 shows
the prophet waiting for ten days. The Lord answered that he must write down the
vision, making it plain on tablets, a reference to the tablets of the Torah,
which we also see in Isaiah 30:8 and Jeremiah 17:1. In that sense, what the prophet writes is as
ironclad as the original covenant. The Lord has a vision for the appointed
time. It speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for
it, for it will surely come. The point here is that the silence of God does not
mean that God is dead. Human beings always live between what God has already
done and what faith expects God to do. Faith says that the answer will not
fail. Barth[1] says that faith has need of
hope, which we can see from the innumerable temptations that assail and shake
those who would cling to the Word of God. One example that he sees here is the
delay of God in the fulfillment of the promises of God. Look at the proud.
Their spirit is not right, however, the righteous live by their faith. Hebrews
10:38 refers to this passage. Paul uses it in Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11.
However, Habakkuk is most concerned with the conduct of the righteous in times
of trial. Barth[2] stresses that for the one who
believes, the day of the Lord will not be a day of darkness. Rather, it will be
a day in which the one who believes or has faith will remain alive in virtue of
that faith.
Habakkuk 2:5-20 is the third segment, focusing on the
curses on the oppressor. The prelude says that wealth is treacherous and the
arrogant do not endure. Like Death, they never have enough. Barth[3] notes that death comes with its
own dynamic, in virtue of which it invades the areas that properly belong to
the world of life. The point of the passage, says Achtemeier, is that true life
is impossible for the proud and mighty. They gather all nations for themselves
and collect all peoples as their own. The first woe is that everyone taunts
such people, for the heap up what is not their own. Their own creditors will
rise and make them tremble. They will become booty for them. Those who survive
will plunder them. The second woe is that they have devised shame for
themselves. By cutting off many peoples, they have forfeited their lives. The
stones will cry out from the wall. The third woe is that they build a town
through murder and iniquity. Watts says it refers to efforts to build a city
with slave labor. However, the goal of God is the knowledge of the glory of the
Lord throughout the earth, as the waters cover the sea. The fourth woe is that
they compel others to drink of wrath, Yet, they are the ones who will stagger
from drink. Drunkenness makes them believe in their own glory, but instead,
shame will come upon them. The violence and murder on the earth will overwhelm
them, suggesting that the atrocities of war return to burden the one who
conquerors. The fifth woe is to ask what use is an idol once its maker has
shaped it. Isaiah 44:9-20 is a fuller statement of a similar thought. It
becomes a cast image, a teacher of lies. Its maker trusts in that which the
maker has made, though the product is only an idol that cannot speak. Wood and
stone do not wake up. However, the prophet will contrast the deadness of the
idol with the living God, for the Lord is in the temple, let all the earth keep
silence before the Lord.
Habakkuk 3:1-19 is the fourth segment, a prayer or
plea for deliverance. It has a classification of a psalm or hymn. It has the
musical note of Shigionoth and has the well-known Selah throughout. It
concludes by saying it is to the leader, with stringed instruments. Watts
suggests the mood is one of lament. It seems this prayer is for temple worship.
He begins with a confession of faith in that he has heard of the renown of the
Lord. He reveres the work of the Lord. The concern of the prophet is not his
own work, Watts says, but the work of God. Next, the prophet describes a
theophany. The vision here is the victory of the Lord over the earth and the
establishment of the kingdom. Achtemeier says this is the most elaborate
theophany in the Old Testament. He asks for the Lord to revive it in his time.
‘In wrath may you remember mercy.” God (Eloah is an old poetic name for God)
came from Teman (the wilderness south of Canaan) and Mount Paran (territory
south of Judah). The glory of the Lord covered the heavens and the earth is
full of the praise of the Lord. He refers to the brightness of the sun, rays
coming from the hand of the Lord, where divine power it hides. The approach of
the Lord drives out pestilence and plague, according to Watts, rather than
being attendants. As the Lord approaches, the greatest things on the earth
react to the presence of the Lord. The Lord stopped and shook the earth. The
Lord looked, and nations trembled. Mountains shattered and ancient pathways
sank low. He saw the tents of Cushan and Midian under affliction. He wonders if
the wrath of the Lord is against the rivers and the sea, where horses drove to
victory. The Lord brandished the naked bow. The Lord split the earth with
rivers. The mountains saw the Lord and trembled. The sun raised its hands, the
moon stood still. In anger, the Lord trod the earth and trampled nations. The
Lord came forth to save the people of the Lord and the anointed of the Lord.
The Lord crushed the wicked house. The Lord pierced with their own arrows the
head of warriors, who came like a whirlwind to scatter Judah. They were ready
to devour the poor in hiding. The Lord trampled the sea, which may mean chaos
defeated. All of this is similar to Armageddon in Christian tradition. The
point, says Achtemeier, is to restore order to chaos. The conclusion is that
the prophet hears and trembles at the sound. Achtemeier notes that the outward
circumstances remain the same, but he now has assurance that God is working.
Rottenness enters his bones. He waits quietly for the day of calamity to come
upon the people who attack Judah. Watts points out that the prophet is
confident of the victory of God. Even if no food comes from the crops, “Yet I
will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation.” Achtemeier
says that joy is the root of faith and hope that has its roots in God. The Lord
is his strength. The Lord makes his feet like that of the deer and tread upon
the heights, which has a parallel in Psalm 18:33, a royal psalm from around the
time of David and Solomon. Achtemeier will also say that confession of faith
reaches its climax in such words.
Obdiah and the Philosophical Context
Obdiah and the Philosophical Context
Obadiah
was likely written between 587 and 450, but my suspicion is we need to place it
here. Edom was south of the Dead Sea, 70
miles north to south and 15 miles east to west.
David's brutal subjection of Edom in II Samuel 8:13-14. Edom's most
notorious crime to the Jews was at 587 and its alliance with Babylon. If in
450, it would be just after Edom was expelled from its ancestral home in
525-474. The basis for this view is in verse 7. Verses 1-9 have a close
connection with Jeremiah 49:7-22. Joel 2:32 seems to quote Obadiah as
scripture. In 587, the Edomites aided the Babylonians and looted Judah. They settled in south Judah under pressure
from Arabs in the East, Hebron was their capitol. Since Nabateans gained control of Edom in
300's, the book was written sometime between 587 and in the 300's.
The
theme is the punishment of Edom and the day of the Lord, when Israel will take
revenge on Edom. Some think that verses 19-21 are an addition, being part of
the anti-Edomite polemic after 587, see Ps. 137:7, Jer 49:7, Lm 4:21-22, Ez
25:12, 35:1, Mal 1:2. Roland E. Murphy (Interpreter’s Bible) thinks it has a vengeful, fanatical
nationalism theme. Yet, the justice
belonged to God. There is no sense of
mission to the nations.
Klaus Koch grouped the
book with Habakkuk. He sees the audience
as those who stayed behind after 587.
The day of the Lord has brought down judgment upon Edom. This day is now imminent. Edom's doom is linked to an Israelite advance
against the nations to regain territory. v. 17-21 is a later addition
describing the regions to be recovered.
The Lord will manifest royal dignity on a renewed Mount Zion.
Obadiah 1a is the first
segment, the title, a vision of the prophet of Obadiah.
Obadiah 1b-4 is the second
segment. It has a close parallel with
Jeremiah 49:12-15. It becomes the text for this part of his sermon. Concerning
Edom, we have heard a report from the Lord from a messenger sent among the
nations. The messenger offers the command to rise for battle. The messenger
will make sure that Edom is the least among the nations, utterly despised.
Their proud heart has deceived them. In their hearts, they wonder who will
bring them down. Though they soar aloft like the eagle, setting their nest
among the stars, the Lord will bring them down.
Obadiah 5-9 is the third
segment. Verse 5 is close to Jeremiah 49:9 and verse 6 is close to Jeremiah
49:10. They form the text for this part of the sermon. If thieves came and
plundered by night, they would steal only what they wanted. Others would leave
gleanings for them. The pillaging of Esau is complete, a name that stresses the
kinship between Israel (Jacob) and Edom (Esau). Allies have deceived them.
Those who ate their bread have set a trap. “On that day” the Lord will destroy
the wise from Edom. The Lord will shatter the warriors of Teman. They have lost
wise political counsel and militarily weak. The passage stresses the totality
of the destruction that Edom will face. Between 525 and 475, they disappear
from history.
Obadiah 10-15 is the
fourth segment. This text is the most complete account of what Edom did against
Judah. It describes the treachery against Jerusalem in 587. They shall be cut
off forever due to the slaughter and violence done to “your brother Jacob.” On
that day, they stood aside, when strangers and foreigners entered its gates and
cast lots, they were like one of them. They should not have gloated over their
brother on the day of his misfortune. They should not have rejoiced on the day
of their ruin. They should not have gloated on that day. They should not have
cut off its fugitives as they sought escape. The reason is that the day of the
Lord is near against all the nations. As they have done, so shall lit be done
to them. Their deeds shall return on their own heads. John Watts says the
plundering lasted a month. One can see the influence of this act in Psalm 137:2,
Lamentations 4:21-22. The final act of wickedness was the capture of the king
in II Kings 24:4-7.
Obadiah 16-18 is the fifth
segment. One can see Jeremiah 25:15-29 for this image. They have drunk from the
holy mountain of the Lord and become as though they had never been. Some shall
escape on Mount Zion, and it shall be holy. The house of Jacob shall take
possession of those who dispossessed them. Thus, in contrast to Edom, Mount
Zion will come back. Judah will have a remnant. They shall be a fire and Esau
the stubble.
Obadiah 19-21 is the sixth
and final segment. This text might be an expansion of the original text. Those
of the Negeb shall possess Mount Esau. They shall possess the land of the
Philistines, Ephraim, and Samaria. Benjamin shall possess Gilead. The exile in
Halah (Assyria) shall possess Phoenica. The exile in Sepharad (only mention in
Bible, likely connected to Persia) shall possess the towns of the Negeb. Those
who have been saved shall go to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau. The kingdom
shall belong to the Lord.
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